“Get a hobby!” – You hear this a lot from mental health professionals. Studies have shown that hobbies are therapeutic and good for your overall well-being. But if you’re suffering from depression, anxiety, or other disorders that carry a crushing cognitive load, a hobby sounds too daunting. Well, a hobby doesn’t necessarily have to be mountain biking, bungee-jumping, or horseback riding. A simple hobby like collecting can be your ticket.

Why do people collect things? Some people collect for value, and indeed watching a traded collectible item mature in value provides some side motivation. It’s also something fun and interesting to devote your time to; at least you’re preserving some pocket of history and culture. It’s intellectually stimulating, since collecting just about anything requires you to focus some mental energy on it.

The mental health benefits of a collecting hobby are multi-fold: It reduces stress by being a calming activity; you can always while away a rainy day by re-organizing your stamp catalog. It affirms your personality; people around the office will begin knowing you as “the doll lady” or “the baseball card guy.” It improves your cognitive focus and memory; learning the release history of every Magic: the Gathering expansion is a mental feat in itself, to say nothing of the education in world history and culture you get from an international coin collection. And finally, collecting helps you socially: It gives you a conversation hook, a common ground with others in the same hobby, and can even get you out of the house to attend a club, convention, or event.

Collecting need not be expensive. Nearly every common collecting target has a level of entry for any budget. Pick whatever you’re interested in. Some eclectic collecting targets are pop cans, toys included in fast-food kids’ meals, magazine back issues, baseball caps, seashells, puzzles, fly fishing lures – really, it’s whatever speaks to you and feel a connection with.

Just be mindful of the difference between “collecting” and “hoarding.” A collection is something you own; hoarding is where the possessions own you. But a well-organized and maintained collection can be a source of fun, inspiration, and joy you can enjoy for years to come, and maybe even pass down to a new generation someday.

Sources: Can Hobbies Make You Healthier?, 4 Interesting Mental Health Benefits Of Collecting, The Psychology of Collecting.

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The Life Change Institute believes in restoring our clients to their optimum state of health and wellness and in establishing personal skills and practices to prevent future ill health and trauma.